Alibaba Buys Rocket's Online Retailer Daraz in Pakistan Push

(Bloomberg) -- Jack Ma is expanding his reach in Pakistan, striking a deal for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to buy Rocket Internet SE-backed online retailer Daraz.

Financial details weren’t disclosed on the deal, which will see Alibaba take control of an online retailer that sells everything from fashion to electronics. Daraz is also active in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Pakistan’s burgeoning youth has turned the nation into a fast-growing consumer market of more than 200 million people. That presents a growth opportunity for Daraz with the market forecast to expand 8.2 percent a year through 2021 amid rising disposable incomes, according to Euromonitor International.

The deal comes just a couple months after Ant Financial, which is controlled by Ma, decided to buy a 45 percent stake in Telenor Microfinance Bank for $184.5 million to further develop mobile payments and digital financial services.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Robert Fenner, Edwin Chan

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